


Change Your Ticket

by pointless



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 17:42:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11696664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pointless/pseuds/pointless
Summary: Normal AU where Simon and Baz meet on a train.





	Change Your Ticket

SIMON

If you would’ve asked me 1 month ago what I’d be doing now, this certainly wouldn’t have been my answer. What I would’ve told you is that I’d be on a Mediterranean cruise with my girlfriend of three years, probably on the coast of Italy at this very second, and drinking a glass of some fruity cocktail I don’t know the name of while smiling for a picture in a tropical shirt. But that is certainly not what is happening.

It isn’t, because Agatha decided to break up with me two weeks ago. She said she “needed time for herself” or “she didn’t feel that way about me”. It took her three years to realize that?

As hurt as I was, I did my best to respect Agatha and accepted it. I called my best friend, Penny right away. I came home to our apartment to find her with my favorite scones, and Netflix ready to stream. She always knows how to make me feel better.

It was then that Penny came up with a revolutionary idea- why don’t I just come to America with her for vacation instead? Penny visits her boyfriend, Micah, every other summer in the States for a couple weeks, and the other years he flies over here. But this year is different for them, because they decided to spend a week on a train, going across the country. This didn’t sound like the most exciting trip to me, not nearly as fun as a cruise, but I hesitantly agreed, not wanting to be left alone at home with a broken heart.

So here’s where I am now: the middle of a fucking cornfield. Apparently that’s all there is in the mid-western United States. The train we’re taking goes from Chicago to San Francisco. At this moment, we’re in the middle of Nebraska. Not the most thrilling sight-seeing thus far. I loved Chicago. The city was beautiful: all of the lights, the people, the food. But other than that, the trip has been pretty boring. Actually, super annoying.

In the seats directly across and one row ahead of mine, a mother sits with her toddler. It would be cute if the kid wasn’t wailing all of the time and running up and down the aisle. Meanwhile, I’m also sitting completely alone in front of Penelope and Micah. It’s disgusting, being able to hear all of their flirting right behind me. It doesn’t help that I’m a bitter single person, fresh out of a long-term relationship. I didn’t really think of how bad third-wheeling would be on this trip until the plane landed in Chicago. The only nice thing about sitting alone is that I have plenty of room to sit however I please.

An energetic voice suddenly rings on the intercom:  
“Attention, passengers! We’ve got 1 hour until our next stop in Denver, Colorado.”

Penny excitedly jumps up and bounces into the seat next to mine.

“Simon! We’re almost in Denver. I hear it’s so beautiful”

I roll my eyes. “So you’re saying we’ll be seeing something other than corn and grass?”

Penny gives me a good shove for that. “Oh, please. You’re going to love it. I didn’t drag you to America to see crops, Simon. There’s going to be mountains. And I hear there’s still some snow!”

I’ll believe it when I see it, I think. But I just shrug and look back out the window. Hopefully this trip will be over faster. I’m starting to think that a cruise on my own might’ve been better.

_________________

When the train stops in Denver, I abruptly sit up from a nap. My neck hurts. These train seats are awful. I look up to see the woman and her child getting their stuff to leave the train. Thank God.

Only a few minutes later, a figure comes into the corner of my eye. I look up to see a tall young man, around my age, facing away from me. He seems to be taking the new open seat across from me. His black hair is a bit long and I can tell it’s slicked back. He’s wearing a forest green shirt and dark jeans. On his feet are a pair of black converse. The jeans are tight, but he’s thin enough that he still has some room in them, just hugging him at the hips. I feel my face heating up. I realize I’m holding my breath and strongly exhale.

He’s putting his carry-on baggage into the luggage compartment above our heads. It seems to be a musical instrument case- possibly a violin?

_______________

BAZ

Once I finish putting up my violin, I turn around to take in my surroundings. I automatically catch eyes with a boy across from me, who quickly turns away and starts coughing. His face reddens. I feel the corner of my mouth slightly turn up. His hair is a mess, a nest of bronze curls on the top of his head. I can see small moles that decorate the side of his pink cheeks and dance down his jawline. He’s cute. My stomach tightens and I quickly turn back to my seat and sit down.

_______________

SIMON

Shit. I think he caught me staring.

When I look back at the boy, he is already sitting down. I have to lean over in my seat to get a good look at him. I observe him as he pulls out a book to read. I squint my eyes to read out the title: The Prince by Machiavelli. Of course he’s reading some posh philosopher shit. Not to mention, he looks like he could be a prince himself. I shake my head to try to not think about his good looks. I remember the second he looked back at me. It was like his eyes shot lightning straight into my core. I did the natural thing someone does when they’re caught staring: I turned away as quickly as possible. If anything, that just made it more obvious. I’m still waiting for the heat to leave my cheeks.

I take my headphones and put them back in my ears, leaning my seat back to try to fall asleep. The last image I remember is him- the boy with the raven hair.

______________

BAZ

 

It is exactly 6:00 when Group 3 is called to the dining car. On the train you can sign up to eat a meal at a table in the dining car, where they put you into groups of four. Being all alone, I’ll be put with 3 random people. I just hope they won’t expect me to chat with them, and let me eat my meal in peace.

When I enter the dining car, a waiter leads me to a table. Facing me is a girl with bright purple hair and caramel skin with a boy next to her. Across from them sits a boy- no the boy- from earlier. I feel a pang in my chest and do my best to ignore it, calmly waltzing up to the table.

“This is group three?” I ask.

All three heads turn toward me. The couple (I assume) smiles at me but the boy’s mouth drops wide open. The girl politely tells me to sit down and I do, right next to the boy. He just shakes his head and turns away from me, scooting down to make room for me.

“Hey! I’m Penny. This is my boyfriend, Micah, and my best friend, Simon.” The girl extends her hand, and I take it to give a firm shake. She has an English accent. Well, we at least have one thing in common.

Simon. What an extremely ordinary name.

“And you are?”

I snap back into reality and clear my throat, “Oh, sorry. I’m Baz.”

All of their eyes widen.

“You’re a Brit?!” Simon exclaims. I smirk at his enthusiasm.

“Yes, but technically no. I moved to the states at a young age.” Only because my mother died, I don’t mention.

The waiter comes up to take our orders. This shit menu is way too expensive. I order anyway.

“Where do you live then?” Penny asks once the waiter leaves, with a sparkle in her eyes and interest rich in her voice.

“I live in San Francisco, but I was just visiting my father in Denver” I have a very hard time not saying my douchebag of a father, but I hold myself together. “I go to Berkeley.”

“Berkeley University? That’s so cool! Me and Simon are from London. We’re here for vacation to visit Micah. Usually we stay in Chicago, but this year we wanted to do some traveling.”

“So the two of you come to the States often? “ I ask.

“Oh no! It’s Simon’s first time. I usually come alone but Simon got dumped, so he came along”

Simon’s eyes widen. “Penny!” He bites at her with -from what I can tell- embarrassment.

“Oh, Shit. Sorry, Simon.” Penny says with a smile. Simon just grunts and looks out the window, where you can see the mountains falling behind us.

______________________

SIMON

This has got to be the most embarrassing dinner of my life.

Of course I have the luck of getting paired to sit next to the most handsome person on this train. I can smell him- a strong, intoxicating scent of cedar and bergamot. His hair is perfectly slicked back on his head. I wonder what it feels like. Probably soft as hell. I clench my fists and my eyes shut to try and think about something else. His perfection is honestly getting on my nerves.

I hate to admit that the time I haven’t spent sleeping on this ride, I’ve spent looking at Baz.

Baz. What an unordinary name.

“Right, Simon?”

Oh shit. I forgot there was actual conversation happening. “I’m sorry, what?”

Penny sighs with frustration. “I said that the views hadn’t been very impressive until we passed Denver. I thought you’d agree since you’ve been complaining about cornfields this whole time.”

“Oh, yeah.”

I look over at Baz. He’s got perfect table manners. I don’t know much about etiquette, but I can tell he has it, with his napkin on his lap and utensils in the right hands and all that shit. Another thing that makes him so perfect.

I glance back at Penny, who is giving me a strange look. She knows something’s going on. My face heats up. Then she’s suddenly glowing, a bright smile on her face, as if she has just realized something. What the hell is she up to this time?

“So, Baz,” Penny starts with a smirk. “Do you have someone special back in San Francisco?”

Oh my god! What the fuck, Penny? I nearly spit out my drink. Baz has a very similar reaction. He begins coughing, his eyes wide. Then suddenly, he regains his composure, as if the question was mundane.

“No.” He goes back to eating without another word. Penny grins at me.

“Interesting,” she says. I’m going to kill her.

_____________________________________

Baz didn’t talk much for the rest of dinner. I would be embarrassed if I were him, too. At one point, our legs brushed under the table. I quickly pulled away and avoided eye contact. Well, I avoided eye contact with him the whole meal.

At the end of the meal, Baz stood up before the rest of us. Before leaving he turns back, and I could swear he was individually talking to me, when he says “See ya.”

And then he was gone.

Immediately, I looked back and glared at Penny. She was just smiling.

“Why did you do that?” I could feel heat rolling off of me in waves.

“Oh relax, Simon. I could see how you were looking at him.” Of course she did. She’s Penny. She’s my best friend. She’s an annoying genius.

“Whatever… He’s not my type anyway.” I just looked down at my hands and played with them. I looked up for a second to see her and Micah smiling.

“Sure, Simon,” they said in unison.

“Oh fuck off.” I left, but I knew they were still smiling, and honestly I was trying hard not to.

_____________________________________

 

I wake up in the middle of the night. These chairs are so damn uncomfortable. I look around me, and I see that Baz’s chair is empty. Where could he even go? I check my phone. It’s 2:34 a.m.

I groggily stand up and shuffle over to Baz’s seat. There’s a small piece of paper on his chair. I pick it up and squint my eyes in the dark to try and make out the words.

Observation Car.

That’s all it says. The observation car is an individual train car with seats facing giant windows, so that you can see the views outside of the train. Penny and Micah asked me to come with them one time, but I was too busy (watching Baz). So I guess that’s where he is now.

I put on my shoes and quickly travel through the rows, trying not to make a sound. I wonder what he’ll be doing in there. Playing his violin? Reading a book? Waiting for me in the dark night, ready to attack? I wouldn’t be surprised if he was plotting my demise. What if this is going to be a train murder mystery? Okay, Simon, don’t be dramatic. That’s just unrealistic.

I reach the doors of the car and take in a deep breath. Okay. Be cool. Be cool. Chill out. My heart beats fast in my chest. I slowly open the door.

“Baz?” I can’t see anything. I just stand in the doorway and wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

“I thought you’d find me.” It’s him. A grin spreads across my face and I hope he can’t see it. I try to follow where the sound came from, my arms out in front of me. Baz laughs, and it fills the whole room. It’s almost like the sound itself produces light.

“Shh!” I hush him, “You’ll wake up the other passengers.”

This just causes him to laugh harder. I shouldn’t feel this much pride in making someone laugh. I can see his shape, sitting down in front of one of the large windows. I finally reach him and we sit in silence for a few moments. The train turns a corner. There’s a giant valley in the middle of the mountains, covered in flowers. I imagine myself picking them, putting the little buds in Baz’s hair. I smile at the thought of it. And there are stars. Thousands of them. It’s beautiful. The moon is full and glorious and I feel full. I feel full and there is nowhere else I would rather be.

“What’s your name?” He asks out of nowhere.

“It’s Simon,” I say with confusion. Did he really not remember?

“No, your full name.” He looks at me.

“Oh. Simon Snow.” He snickers. “Is that funny? What’s yours, Mr. All-High-and-mighty?”

“Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch”

I bust out laughing. “And you found humor in my name? How could you even say that with a straight face? I guess it really suits you, all posh and mysterious and fancy and shit.”

I look at him and he’s smiling. “Mysterious you say? Is that why you’ve been staring at me this whole trip? Trying to figure me out, Snow?”

I start blushing. Good thing he can’t see how red my face is. I can now see clearly in the dark car, making out the individual seats, the shadows against the floor, Baz. Baz. His skin practically glows under the soft moonlight. It takes all of my will not to reach out and touch his skin. It looks so soft. Everything about him is so soft. The world is black and white and I feel like I’m in an old film.

“You could say that.” I shrug. 

______________________

BAZ

“Alright, Snow. Tell me more about yourself.”

I turn my head to catch him staring at me, and I feel a thousand butterflies trapped in my stomach. Soft light shines through the window and catches his face. Even in the darkness, I can tell there is a bit of a pink tint to his cheeks, his moles spotting them like a constellation of stars.

“Well,” Simon starts, “I’m not very good at many things. Penny is my best friend and we live together in London. My favorite food is definitely sour cherry scones. I like reading fantasy novels. I would ask you about yourself but I would like to try to guess.”

“I would love to see where this goes,” I smirk.

“Okay… You play the violin. I already know that. You read a lot. Mainly nonfiction. You’re smart as hell and you’ve always been at the top of your class. The whole world is probably chasing Baz Pitch for his affection. The whole world wants to be Baz Pitch. And you might possibly want to be with me?” Simon’s voice quickens at the end of his sentence, my heart rate running along with it.

“You make me sound so much cooler than I am.” I grin. I grin so big it reaches to my ears and it hurts. It feels so good. “But you’re definitely right about one thing.”

And then he kisses me. 

______________________

SIMON

I’m kissing him. I’m kissing Baz. His lips are so soft on mine, I feel myself sigh into his mouth. We reach hands and entangle them together. With my other hand I reach up and run it through his hair. I wrap my fingers in it, coaxing a small moan from his throat. He’s so beautiful.

______________________

BAZ

I swear this boy is made of magic. I can feel it pouring out of him, drowning me. It’s drowning me and I couldn’t be happier. I’m going to die kissing Simon Snow.

I let go of his hand and put both of mine up his shirt, the cool tips of my fingers dancing over the warm skin of his back. He’s so warm. He’s magic. He’s the sun. I pull him closer. I pull him so close that there’s no closer to get. But I wish so much that there was. I hope I die kissing Simon Snow.

______________________

SIMON

When we finally break away, I feel the need to gasp for air. I had no idea I could ever feel this way. We’re just smiling at each other, not saying a thing. But I think we’re on the same page.

This is so much better than a cruise.

Baz and I head back to our seats, giggling as he pulls me along by the hand. We get back and we stand there for a moment, not knowing what to do.

I clear my throat. “Can I, um, sleep with you?”

I can see his white teeth in the dark room. He puts his mouth up to my ear to whisper. Shivers run down my spine. “Of course.”

_______________________________________

PENNY 

In the morning I stand up and look over my seat to wake up Simon. He’s not there.

I look over at Baz’s to seat. Oh.

I walk over to stand in front of them. They’re huddled together under a blanket, and they look so happy. I almost don’t want to wake Simon up. Just then his eyes open and he looks up at me. He rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling.

I cross my arms and smirk. “Told you so.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Snowbaz/Carry On fanfic, so there might be some flaws. I was also majorly sleep deprived when I wrote this haha. I hope you enjoyed it!


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